Blasts of Light from Axions.

Area of Science:

• Astrophysics
• Particle Physics
• Theoretical Physics

Background:

• The nature of dark matter remains a significant unsolved problem in science.
• Axions and axion-like particles are leading candidates for dark matter and arise in theories addressing the strong CP problem and string theory.
• Superradiant mechanisms can lead to the formation of dense axion clouds around spinning black holes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the phenomenon of stimulated photon emission from axion clouds around black holes.
• To provide a quantitative, classical description of laser-like photon emission from these axion clouds.

Main Methods:

• Numerical simulations were employed to solve the classical problem of axion clouds interacting with photons.
• The study explored various theoretical setups to model the emission process.

Main Results:

• The research confirms the existence of laser-like photon emission from axion clouds at the classical level.
• A quantitative description of this stimulated emission process is provided for the first time.

Conclusions:

• Axion clouds around black holes can act as a source of stimulated, laser-like photon emission.
• This finding offers a new avenue for detecting axions and understanding their properties, independent of their dark matter contribution.